Psychoactive Substances Act

The Psychoactive Substances Bill came into force last week. A range of effective prohibitions and penalties for breaches of the law came into effect as well. These include; no sales from dairies or any sort of grocery store, petrol stations, anywhere alcohol is sold; no sales to under 18 year olds; no advertising; and strict labelling requirements.

This is the first part of a two-stage process to stop the damage these drugs are causing.

Part two is the development of Psychoactive Substances Regulations, expected towards the end of this year.

The Regulations will require products to have a low risk of harm as determined by an independent expert panel. The total cost of bringing a product to the market is likely to be several million dollars.

These are key parts in stopping the damage being caused by these substances.